Joust 2
Encyclopedia
Joust 2: Survival of the Fittest is an arcade game
developed by Williams Electronics and released in 1986. It is a sequel to Williams' 1982 game Joust. Like its predecessor, Joust 2 is a platform game
that features two-dimensional (2D) graphics
. The player uses a button and joystick to control a knight riding a flying ostrich. The object is to progress through levels by defeating groups of enemy knights riding buzzards. Joust 2 features improved audio-visuals and gameplay elements absent from the original.
The game uses more advanced hardware than the original Joust, allowing for the new elements. John Newcomer led development again, which began to create an conversion kit that allowed arcade owners to convert the cabinet into another game. Williams chose a vertically oriented screen for the kit as a result of the design's popularity at the time. Released during the waning days of the golden age of arcade games
, Joust 2 did not achieve the success that Joust reached. The game was later released on home consoles as part of arcade compilations.
Players navigate the knight to collide with enemies. The elevation of an enemy in relation to the player's knight determines the outcome of the collision. If the protagonist is higher than the enemy, the villain is defeated and vice versa. A collision of equal elevations results in the two knights bouncing off each other. Joust 2 introduced a transformation ability that morphs the player's bird into a Pegasus
, which provides better offensive capabilities while on ground but poor flight capabilities. A second player can join the game. The two players can either cooperatively complete the waves or attack each other while competitively defeating enemies.
sound and raster graphics
on a 19 inch color CRT monitor
. Like other Williams arcade games, Joust 2 was programmed in assembly language
. Williams' video game department had shrunk following a decline in the video game industry. The company wanted to sell an arcade conversion kit for games that use a vertically oriented monitor, which had become popular at the time. Management felt that a sequel would improve the kit's saleability. The company decided to release a sequel to either Robotron: 2084
or Joust, ultimately choosing the latter. Technology had progressed since the original's release, providing more flexibility than before. As a result, Newcomer conceived new elements: additional characters, improved audio-visuals, and new mechanics. To portray a progression of villains, the staff added a new enemy, the Robot Knight. The developers added backgrounds to the levels, inspired by artwork by M. C. Escher
, Newcomer's favorite artist. Staff added a transform button to provide players with more variety and balance the gameplay.
and Mike Bevan of Retro Gamer
attributed the poor numbers to an industry slump in the mid-1980s. Joust 2 arcade cabinets have since become fairly rare among collectors. Weiss negatively compared the game to its predecessor, calling Joust more popular and enjoyable. However, he commented that Joust 2s graphics are more detailed and robust. In retrospect, Newcomer expressed dissatisfaction with the game's design, specifically the monitor's orientation. He commented that the gameplay works best with a horizontal orientation or with multi-directional scrolling. Since its release, players have competed to obtain the highest score at the game. The vertical orientation proved to be a hindrance for home conversion. As a result, the game saw fewer home releases than Joust. In 1997, it was released as part of Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Midway Collection 2. Joust 2 was also included in the 2003 multi-platform compilation Midway Arcade Treasures
.
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
developed by Williams Electronics and released in 1986. It is a sequel to Williams' 1982 game Joust. Like its predecessor, Joust 2 is a platform game
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
that features two-dimensional (2D) graphics
2D computer graphics
2D computer graphics is the computer-based generation of digital images—mostly from two-dimensional models and by techniques specific to them...
. The player uses a button and joystick to control a knight riding a flying ostrich. The object is to progress through levels by defeating groups of enemy knights riding buzzards. Joust 2 features improved audio-visuals and gameplay elements absent from the original.
The game uses more advanced hardware than the original Joust, allowing for the new elements. John Newcomer led development again, which began to create an conversion kit that allowed arcade owners to convert the cabinet into another game. Williams chose a vertically oriented screen for the kit as a result of the design's popularity at the time. Released during the waning days of the golden age of arcade games
Golden Age of Arcade Games
The golden age of video arcade games was a peak era of video arcade game popularity, innovation, and earnings. Although there is no consensus as to its exact time period, most sources place it around the early 1980s.-Overview:...
, Joust 2 did not achieve the success that Joust reached. The game was later released on home consoles as part of arcade compilations.
Gameplay
Joust 2 is a platforming game like its predecessor, Joust, in which the player controls a yellow knight riding a flying ostrich from a third-person perspective. The player navigates the protagonist around the game world, which consists of floating platforms, via two-way joystick and a button. The joystick controls the horizontal direction that the knight travels, while pressing the button makes the ostrich flap its wings. The rate at which the player repeatedly presses the button causes the ostrich to fly upward, hover, or slowly descend. The objective is to defeat groups of enemy knights riding buzzards that populate each level, referred to as a "wave". Upon completing a wave, a subsequent, more challenging one will begin.Players navigate the knight to collide with enemies. The elevation of an enemy in relation to the player's knight determines the outcome of the collision. If the protagonist is higher than the enemy, the villain is defeated and vice versa. A collision of equal elevations results in the two knights bouncing off each other. Joust 2 introduced a transformation ability that morphs the player's bird into a Pegasus
Pegasus
Pegasus is one of the best known fantastical as well as mythological creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine horse, usually white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. He was the brother of Chrysaor, born at a single birthing...
, which provides better offensive capabilities while on ground but poor flight capabilities. A second player can join the game. The two players can either cooperatively complete the waves or attack each other while competitively defeating enemies.
Development
Joust 2 was developed by Williams Electronics, with John Newcomer as the lead designer. The game features amplified monauralMonaural
Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path...
sound and raster graphics
Raster graphics
In computer graphics, a raster graphics image, or bitmap, is a data structure representing a generally rectangular grid of pixels, or points of color, viewable via a monitor, paper, or other display medium...
on a 19 inch color CRT monitor
Cathode ray tube
The cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...
. Like other Williams arcade games, Joust 2 was programmed in assembly language
Assembly language
An assembly language is a low-level programming language for computers, microprocessors, microcontrollers, and other programmable devices. It implements a symbolic representation of the machine codes and other constants needed to program a given CPU architecture...
. Williams' video game department had shrunk following a decline in the video game industry. The company wanted to sell an arcade conversion kit for games that use a vertically oriented monitor, which had become popular at the time. Management felt that a sequel would improve the kit's saleability. The company decided to release a sequel to either Robotron: 2084
Robotron: 2084
Robotron: 2084 is an arcade video game developed by Vid Kidz and released by Williams Electronics in 1982. It is a shooting game that features two-dimensional graphics. The game is set in the year 2084, in a fictional world where robots have turned against humans...
or Joust, ultimately choosing the latter. Technology had progressed since the original's release, providing more flexibility than before. As a result, Newcomer conceived new elements: additional characters, improved audio-visuals, and new mechanics. To portray a progression of villains, the staff added a new enemy, the Robot Knight. The developers added backgrounds to the levels, inspired by artwork by M. C. Escher
M. C. Escher
Maurits Cornelis Escher , usually referred to as M. C. Escher , was a Dutch graphic artist. He is known for his often mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints...
, Newcomer's favorite artist. Staff added a transform button to provide players with more variety and balance the gameplay.
Reception and legacy
Williams shipped around 1,000 units of Joust 2, the amount shipped for its predecessor. Brett Alan Weiss of AllgameAllgame
Allgame is a commercial database of information about arcade games, video games and console manufacturers.Allgame is owned by All Media Guide, along with Allmusic and Allmovie....
and Mike Bevan of Retro Gamer
Retro Gamer
Retro Gamer is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Although launched as a quarterly publication, Retro Gamers soon became a monthly...
attributed the poor numbers to an industry slump in the mid-1980s. Joust 2 arcade cabinets have since become fairly rare among collectors. Weiss negatively compared the game to its predecessor, calling Joust more popular and enjoyable. However, he commented that Joust 2s graphics are more detailed and robust. In retrospect, Newcomer expressed dissatisfaction with the game's design, specifically the monitor's orientation. He commented that the gameplay works best with a horizontal orientation or with multi-directional scrolling. Since its release, players have competed to obtain the highest score at the game. The vertical orientation proved to be a hindrance for home conversion. As a result, the game saw fewer home releases than Joust. In 1997, it was released as part of Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Midway Collection 2. Joust 2 was also included in the 2003 multi-platform compilation Midway Arcade Treasures
Midway Arcade Treasures
Midway Arcade Treasures is a collection of 24 arcade games developed by Digital Eclipse and released by Midway for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC....
.